Wind-shield for automobiles.



I. I. HOVER. WIND SHIELD FOR AUOIvBILES.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. ?9, IQII.

T t.. F. H s S v4 E F. H S 2 I'. 3. hOVER. WIND SHIELD FUR AUTIWOBILES.APPLICATION FILED IIIII. 29, aan.

2 SHEES-SHEET 2l dit nascose..

l tpccittcatlon ot ltottera datent Patented llenar 1 .To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that l, Jorrit d. llover, a citiaen of the United States,residing; at the city and county of Denver and State et Colorado, haveinvented certain new and usetnllmprovements in Windlhields ttorAutomobiles; and l do declare the following tobe a full, clear, 'andexact description 0i `the invention, such as will enable others skilledin theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters ofreference marked thereon,

ywhich form a part' of this specification.

`machines employed for racing where the maximum limit of speed isdesired, wind shields are discarded completely. This, or course, isbecause oit the great resistance which the ordinary Wind shield offersto the travel of the machine by reason of @the relatively large areawhich engages the atmos phere, the wind shield being in the positionheretofore v explained.

In my improvement, l employ a construction having sidesl which convergeas they er:- tend forwardly, their itorward edges meeting in an apexWhose angle may vary according' to the circumstances. ln some maires ofmachines the 'forwardly protrudingr ape-r may be relatively sharp, whilein other cases,

the degree of sharpness will he reduced,

but in any event the sides of the wind shield lill will be inclined tothe direction of travel,

whereby the apex of the same is presented to.

the wind and cuts the atmosphere in such a way as to materially reducethe resistance to the travel of the machine, thereby cutting down theexpense of gasolene, since a less quantity will be required for a givenmileage.

lin my improvement, the space vin the rear ol the wind shield andattendingI .forward from the tonneau or loody ot' vthe machine, isclosed at hoth the top and hottom. llt the hottora, this space orchamber may he closed hy the portion ot the machine which .is catedhet-Ween the tonneau and the engine housing or hood, or a specialclosure loe provided. tt the top, however, a triangularl plate isemployed which it the sides ot the wind shield are rectangular wherebytheir upper edges occupy horizontal post tions, may consist of ametallic plate or it may loe composed ot glass or other snitahletransparent material it desired. ln any event it is hinged in such amanner that it may loe lifted from its forward end .tor ventilating orother purposes. 0r the topv ot the wind shield may entend downwardly asit extends "forwardly, thus forming an in clined olosnrefor the windshield chamher. lin this event this top plate moet he oit z y or othersuitable transparent material so that the chauffeur or person in chargeor the machine may loolr through it while the machine is in use. 'lhistop plate is also hinged at its rear and upper extremity, wherehy it mayhe raised and lowered at will as cirennif astances may require. Viherethe top plate 'normally occupies a horizontal position and the sides ofthe wind shield are rectangullar,l these sides may he divided and theirupper members hinged to open in a manner vsimilar to the ordinaryconstruction oit wind shields. However, where the top plate is inclineddownwardly from the top of the machine, it is preferred that the sidemembers ot the wind shield shall he integral and stationary, since thehing-ing oit the top plate will oliviate the necessity ot dividing theside plates and hin per members thereof.

.. Having hriedy outlined improvement, l vvii-lproceed 'to describe thesame in. detail,

reterence lacing.; made to the accompanying'.

drawing in which is illustrated. an einhodi ment thereot. lnthisdrawing??- Figure l. is a fragmentary side elevation of the loody oit anautomobile, equipped with my improved construction of wind shield.

lling. l2 is a horizontal section talren on the line 2-Q ot Fig. llooting downwardly or in the direction ot the arrow.'

3 is a vertical section talren on the line 3 3 Fig. 2. 1

4l `and 5 are sections talren on the lines and tif-5 retroactively oit3.

t is a section illnstrating1 a modiied :torni of construction.

tiret more particrdarly to lll titi

ning the np-` A lltltll lltlh lllitl 1 to 5 inclusive, let the numeral 5designate a wind shield whichis composed of two con verging sides 6which meet in an apex at the forward extremity of the shield, the plates6 converging or approaching each other as they extend forwardly. Therear edges of these plates 6 engage upright frame bars 7, whlle theirforward extremities engage a common bar 8 which is also upright, itslower extremity resting on the bottom plate 9 of the win'd shield. Asshown in the drawing the forward extremity 10 of the body of the machinewhich slopes downwardly to the hood 12, is built up as shown at 13 inorder that the bottom plate 9 of the wind shield may occupy a horizontalposition. The space within the wind shield and forwardV of the tonneau,is normally closed at the .top by a plate 14 which is attached at itsrear extremity as shown at 15. This plate is triangular in shape andcorrespends so far as its forwardly located point is concerned, to theangle of the side 6 of the wind shield. This forward extremity or apexof the plate 4 is equipped with a downwardlyextending flexible rod 16which enters a'vertically disposed opening 17 formed in the bar 8. Thelower extremity of this flexible member is composed of a rigid metalpart 18 which, however, is relatively short and forms a support for aset screw 19 which is threaded thereinto and passes through a slot 20formed in the rear portion of the bar 8 and communicating with theopening in which the parts 16 and 17 move.

'This set screw is equipped with a nut 21 which is threaded on theforward extremity of the screw and when tightened on the latter, willsupport the top plate 14 in the open position, since the forwardextremity of the nut constitutes a shoulder which engages the bar 8 onopposite sides of the slot through which the screw proper passes. Hencewhen the chauffeur wishes to open the plate 14, he simply loosens thenut 21 and lifts the said plate-by exerting a lifting stress on the nutand set screw. After the top plate has been raised to the desiredheight, the nut 21 is again tightened, whereby the said plate issupported inthe raised or open position. The side edges ofthe plate 14-are provided with depending flanges 22, which overlap the side plates 6of the wind shield at the top in order to form tight joints. The reartop bar 23 of the wind shield is grooved or channeled to receive thetransversely arranged forwardly located bar 24 of the top 55 o themachine. By virtue of this construction a relatively tight joint isformed between the top of the,

automobile and the wind shield, thus making it practicable to tightlyclose the structure where the top joins the wind shield.

As illustrated in the drawing, each ofl the side plates 6 is composed ofa lower sta- Lacanau? the latter may be opened by tilting it to asuitable angle as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3. As shown,the adjacent edges of the two members 25 and 26 are plain or uninclosed,thus preventing any obstruction of the view where the two members joineach other when the sides of the wind shield are closed.

In the form of construction shown in Fig. 6, the opposite sides 28 ofthe wind shield are stationary and their u per edges slope downwardly asthey extend ibrwardly. These sides also approach each other as theyextend forwardly, thus providing a construction which offers relativelylittle resistance t0 the progress of the machine by reason of itscontact with the air, the same as in the other form of construction. Theforward vertical edges 29 of the side plates are relatively short, but'engage a stationary up right bar 30 which is open to receive a flexiblemember 31 with whose lower extremity a set screw 32 is connected, lthisscrew being equipped with a nut 33 for the purpose of tightening thetriangular top plate 54 when the latter has been properlyadjusted. Itwillbe understood from an inspection of the drawing that the top plate54 is composed of glass or other suitable transparent 'material, itsrear edge entering a bar 34 and being hinged as shown at 35 for openingpur poses. In this form ofconstruction, both the sides and the top ofthe windV shield present inclined surfaces .to the atmosphere as themachine moves forwardly, whereby the resistance offered is largelyovercome.

From the foregoing description, the use and operation in my improvedwind shield construction will be readily understood. In the form ofconstruction shown at Figs. 1 to v5 inclusive, the driver or person incharge of the machine will look through the converging side wall 6 whoseupper members 26 may be opened or closed as may be dey sired, while in,theform of construction each other as they extend forwardly, andV meansfor closing the wind shieldat the top and bottom, the top closureconsisting of a plate .hinged to permit raising and lowering as may berequired.

3. A. wind 'shield whose sides a preach each other as they extend forwary, and

reeeee.

means for dosing* *ehe Wood sfae. et ehe bop and. loottom, the topeoeure consisting of triangular piare hmger to perml'e egusb wirdShir-it Whoee .s-ties approach T. A' A .Y 7i .q ""v einen @ehe-r es theyefreno-L iorweroly mol means for closing ighe wrrfl she et the top andbottom, faire tog eoeure consisting of si. hinged triangular pete, :mdmeans for se curing Jhe phare in he desired position of adjuetment.

5. A. wind shied 'Whose Ses approach each Geller as they exten forwerdy,ami means for closing 'the Wim?. shield at the op and bottom, the topClosure consisting of e downwardy inclined plate hinged to pern mitedjusnlen.

6. A Wind shield whose sides approach each other as hey extemf,forwardly, and :means for dosing the wind shield et the top :md bottom,the top closure consisting; of e ownwardy inclined transparent plate.

7. A.v 'Wim shield Whose Sides approach ezzeh other as they extend{omvat-diy, and menus 'for Closing the Wind shield ai; the iop and.bottom, the rop e'osure consisting of a downwardly inclined transparentpia-1e hinged for purposes of edjustmens.

8. .fr wind ehe'd whose sides eorwerge the] exten iarrwerdy "co form zuroper; er@ uprigh frame bers Wheh engage ehe Verfeiee edges of ehe 'p'ees:md supper@ rho leter in place, the said frame Work aso homing a toptreneversey arranged ber ehameed to reeeve @the forward transverse barai; the iop of the. machine.

9. A, Wind, shield having fo 'Werdy extending :side members, means forclosing; the shield at the iop, said top eosure compris-- 'ing patehinged ai; one edge.

10. A wigr shed having side men-.ers which approach each other es theyextend tfor'wardly, e closure for the top of the shield, seid oosurecomprising e plateluged at one edge.

E1n testimony whc-zreoiz afx my Signature, in presen :e of twoWitnesses.

JOHN J. HQVER.

snesses MARY: HIGGINS, A Lnmtr OBRIEN.

